Shostie:scottydoesntknow: Sybarite: So, dead from alcohol poisoning in three days?

Hmmm I predict a fiery drunken-driving crash in a $75,000 Beemer (the other 2 grand going to booze).

Also, would you have to pay taxes on money you've found? I mean, I know he's not going to pay, but I'm assuming there would be taxes on it.

Found property. If you find and keep property that does not belong to you that has been lost or abandoned (treasure-trove), it is taxable to you at its fair market value in the first year it is your undisputed possession. -IRS Publication 525

Gotta love the guys at the IRS who think of such things and write phamplets on them. IRS publication 525(a) Taxable aspects of found treasure troves when you are related to, or a former member of the Pirate crew to which the treasure rightfuly belonged before you were betrayed by your treacherous captian

Hmmm I predict a fiery drunken-driving crash in a $75,000 Beemer (the other 2 grand going to booze).

Also, would you have to pay taxes on money you've found? I mean, I know he's not going to pay, but I'm assuming there would be taxes on it.

Found property. If you find and keep property that does not belong to you that has been lost or abandoned (treasure-trove), it is taxable to you at its fair market value in the first year it is your undisputed possession. -IRS Publication 525

Gotta love the guys at the IRS who think of such things and write phamplets on them. IRS publication 525(a) Taxable aspects of found treasure troves when you are related to, or a former member of the Pirate crew to which the treasure rightfuly belonged before you were betrayed by your treacherous captian

FTFA:"A homeless man is $77,000 richer ... [He0 told Austin's Fox 7 last month that his first purchase would be a car."I've been walking for so long," he said."

Homeless... and the first thing he wants to do with a small windfall is blow it on a car. Yeah, he's not going to be $77,000 richer pretty soon. He's going to be broke and living in the burnt-out, rusted-out shell of a car surrounded by empty liquor bottles and his own regrets.

If he had a brain, first thing he'd do would be to sort out affordable living arrangements, food, clothing, a bed (or even just a mattress) to get proper sleep on, some basic fundamentals for bathing, and whatever else (medical / dental / skill-set improvements) needed to persuade somebody to give him a job that would then cover the ongoing food and housing costs.

It's sad that this money most likely won't help him at all. What he should do with the money is buy a reliable but beater car, buy new cloths, rent an apartment in a moderately nice part of town, and then use the rest of the money to live for up to several years while looking for a damn job or maybe start a business.

The reality is he'll have a few good days/weeks and that will be it. He will either die of an overdose, lose all the money, or blow it all on stupid shiat.

gweilo8888:Homeless... and the first thing he wants to do with a small windfall is blow it on a car. Yeah, he's not going to be $77,000 richer pretty soon. He's going to be broke and living in the burnt-out, rusted-out shell of a car surrounded by empty liquor bottles and his own regrets.

Yep, but that's totally his choice. He gets to blow his fortune on booze and cars and whatever else he wants, just like the rich get to throw their money away on mansions and parties and yachts and other trivial crap. It's his money, so he gets to enjoy it however he wants.

Do I wish he would use his money responsibly? Go to school? Get an apartment? Put most in savings? Of course. He's been handed a great opportunity, and it would be terrific if he made the most of it. But it's doubtful that he will. Most people are pretty stupid when it comes to... well, anything.

Shostie:scottydoesntknow: Sybarite: So, dead from alcohol poisoning in three days?

Hmmm I predict a fiery drunken-driving crash in a $75,000 Beemer (the other 2 grand going to booze).

Also, would you have to pay taxes on money you've found? I mean, I know he's not going to pay, but I'm assuming there would be taxes on it.

Found property. If you find and keep property that does not belong to you that has been lost or abandoned (treasure-trove), it is taxable to you at its fair market value in the first year it is your undisputed possession. -IRS Publication 525

Hmmm I predict a fiery drunken-driving crash in a $75,000 Beemer (the other 2 grand going to booze).

Also, would you have to pay taxes on money you've found? I mean, I know he's not going to pay, but I'm assuming there would be taxes on it.

Found property. If you find and keep property that does not belong to you that has been lost or abandoned (treasure-trove), it is taxable to you at its fair market value in the first year it is your undisputed possession. -IRS Publication 525

Gotta love the guys at the IRS who think of such things and write phamplets on them. IRS publication 525(a) Taxable aspects of found treasure troves when you are related to, or a former member of the Pirate crew to which the treasure rightfuly belonged before you were betrayed by your treacherous captian

It isn't particularly surprising. People are always trying to avoid paying taxes, so things need to be written in to prevent that from happening. Otherwise, for example, to avoid inheritance tax, the child or niece/nephew of a rich person might 'find' a whole lot of money every year... the same year in which the rich person claims large 'gambling losses'. I'd be willing to bet it was only after a bunch of scenarios like that that IRS publication 525 came into being.

gweilo8888:FTFA: "A homeless man is $77,000 richer ... [He0 told Austin's Fox 7 last month that his first purchase would be a car."I've been walking for so long," he said."

Homeless... and the first thing he wants to do with a small windfall is blow it on a car. Yeah, he's not going to be $77,000 richer pretty soon. He's going to be broke and living in the burnt-out, rusted-out shell of a car surrounded by empty liquor bottles and his own regrets.

If he had a brain, first thing he'd do would be to sort out affordable living arrangements, food, clothing, a bed (or even just a mattress) to get proper sleep on, some basic fundamentals for bathing, and whatever else (medical / dental / skill-set improvements) needed to persuade somebody to give him a job that would then cover the ongoing food and housing costs.

I'd be real suprised if they didn't decide this guy needs a "guardian of the property -bascially a court-appointed lawyer who handles your checkbook for you. Used to work for a lawyer who did that for a living. It's a job that has gotten a whole damn lot easier since Quicken was invented (because you compile a yearly report to the court on what you did with your ward's money that year). One of our clients was a lovely little old lady who'd been homeless for years until she went to a shelter one cold night and a worker thier noticed an uncashed Pension check poking out of the top of her shoping cart. When he took a closer look he found her cart had about $300,000 in uncashed checks.

vodka:It's sad that this money most likely won't help him at all. What he should do with the money is buy a reliable but beater car, buy new cloths, rent an apartment in a moderately nice part of town, and then use the rest of the money to live for up to several years while looking for a damn job or maybe start a business.

The reality is he'll have a few good days/weeks and that will be it. He will either die of an overdose, lose all the money, or blow it all on stupid shiat.

That's a very bootstrappy idea, but let's be honest, when you've gone that far down the hole of despair, that much found money is the hobo's version of the Make A Wish foundation -- at least he can go out in style.

gweilo8888:FTFA: "A homeless man is $77,000 richer ... [He0 told Austin's Fox 7 last month that his first purchase would be a car."I've been walking for so long," he said."

Homeless... and the first thing he wants to do with a small windfall is blow it on a car. Yeah, he's not going to be $77,000 richer pretty soon. He's going to be broke and living in the burnt-out, rusted-out shell of a car surrounded by empty liquor bottles and his own regrets.

If he had a brain, first thing he'd do would be to sort out affordable living arrangements, food, clothing, a bed (or even just a mattress) to get proper sleep on, some basic fundamentals for bathing, and whatever else (medical / dental / skill-set improvements) needed to persuade somebody to give him a job that would then cover the ongoing food and housing costs.

Most chronically homeless aren't homeless solely for lack of money... various addictions and/or mental illness are the root cause. With any luck, the attorneys can convince him to put it into some kind of trust arrangement that doles it out to him for specific uses like housing.

It's not fool proof, but such things are often used when writing up a will to manage an inheritance when some offspring are a spendthrift. My parents did this because my brother is a drug addict who will never be able to handle more than a month's worth of money at a time.

gweilo8888:Homeless... and the first thing he wants to do with a small windfall is blow it on a car.

First off, he's homeless. I will defend the working poor tooth and nail from people who insist they deserve their lot, but it's common knowledge that most homeless people have serious issues. Expecting sound judgement from a homeless guy isn't very reasonable.

Second, WTF? $77k is a lot of money to spend and it's a miracle if you're just down on your luck, but it falls well short of what you'd need to re-start a life from rock bottom. First off the cops probably won't be diligent in giving back all of it. He has to sell the gold coins, and he's gonna get ripped off there. The IRS will take its cut. Any collections agencies for old debts will crawl out of the woodwork to garnish that shiat. Relatives will suddenly express renewed interest in his life. He'll quickly find out who his friends and enemies are -- mostly enemies, some of whom will try to get him killed. This will all happen without him doing a single stupid thing.

He's farked. He might as well use whatever amount of that money he can keep his hands on to go out in style.

dragonchild:First off, he's homeless. I will defend the working poor tooth and nail from people who insist they deserve their lot, but it's common knowledge that most homeless people have serious issues. Expecting sound judgement from a homeless guy isn't very reasonable.

First, no farking duh. Should I pat him on the back and tell him he's got the smarts because he thinks buying a car is a great idea, or should I call a spade a spade?

dragonchild:Second, WTF? $77k is a lot of money to spend and it's a miracle if you're just down on your luck, but it falls well short of what you'd need to re-start a life from rock bottom. First off the cops probably won't be diligent in giving back all of it. He has to sell the gold coins, and he's gonna get ripped off there. The IRS will take its cut. Any collections agencies for old debts will crawl out of the woodwork to garnish that shiat. Relatives will suddenly express renewed interest in his life. He'll quickly find out who his friends and enemies are -- mostly enemies, some of whom will try to get him killed. This will all happen without him doing a single stupid thing.

Second, no farking duh. I said myself, it is "a small windfall". It's not a lot, and it'll be even less by the time he gets his hands on it. But even if you figure he loses 80% of it on the way into translating it to spendable cash, that's still $15,400.

I don't know where you live, but in much of the US that would cover 18 months rent at $400 a month, leaving him $8,200 to spend. A set of presentable clothes for interviews, some cheap second-hand clothes to live in (that are probably still cleaner and more comfortable than what he's lived on the street in), a second-hand mattress on the floor, and he's out maybe another few hundred max. That leaves him the better part of $8,000 to spend on hygiene / the very basics of healthcare, food, public transport, and getting his ass out the door to some interviews.

Figure $8 a day on food and transport, that's still going to see him through 18 months and leave him $3,500 for the other stuff. Yes, that's a little bit tight, but then realistically he's not going to lose 80% of it in one go, and cleaned up he shouldn't need 18 months to find a job mopping floors or something else the average person would turn their nose up at, but which is still a farking sight better than sleeping on the street.

My point is, even after everybody else takes their cut, he has far, far more than enough there to turn his lot around and get back on his feet at least somewhat. It won't make him rich, it won't even make him middle class, but it'll put a foot back on the ladder. Well, unless he's a completely unemployable murderer / rapist, in which case fark him.

dragonchild:He's farked. He might as well use whatever amount of that money he can keep his hands on to go out in style.

Spoken like somebody who either has no idea what it is like to live hand-to-mouth, or who has a very good chance of finding out for themselves if they ever find themselves down on their luck.